SOWORE’S RELEASE: A VICTORY FOR  PEOPLE’S ACTION, BUT THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

We Urge NLC  to Declare 24-Hour Strike with Mass Protest Against Continuous Attacks on Democratic Rights, Anti-Poor Policies, and Non-Implementation of Minimum Wage

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) welcomes the release of Omoyele Sowore, former Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and prominent civil rights activist, following his illegal detention for over 48 hours by the Nigeria police. This is a victory that underlines the power of people’s action. It is clear that Sowore’s release was forced by the pressure mounted on the Tinubu-led government through various protests by members of his organization and other civil society groups. This pressure was no doubt amplified by the press statement issued by the national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which not only condemned Sowore’s arrest but also called on the Tinubu-led administration and the Nigeria police for his immediate release. The SPN commends the prompt and timely intervention of the NLC, which has once again demonstrated that the labour movement can play a decisive role in forcing concessions from the ruling elite when it raises its voice in defence of democratic rights.

However, while Sowore’s release is welcome, we condemn in the strongest terms the Tinubu administration’s actions that led to his arrest and detention, especially as it is evident that this case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of state repression and attacks on democratic rights. Only weeks ago, Andrew Emelieze, a federal civil servant and former Oyo State chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), was arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State, detained for over 10 days, by the DSS at the instance of the presidency for demanding the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage and the payment of outstanding wage awards for federal workers. Similarly, last year, Michael Adaramoye, Daniel Akande and 9 others, were detained for several weeks and charged outrageously with treason, which carries a death penalty, over the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest. In addition, the recent approval by the Federal Government of the so-called National Industrial Relations Policy (NIRP) is a direct attack on workers’ rights. This policy is designed to weaken collective bargaining, prohibits strikes, undermine trade union autonomy and violate fundamental labour rights as guaranteed under both domestic and international laws. It directly contravenes Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and the provisions of the Trade Union Act (as amended), which protects every Nigerian worker’s right to freely associate, engage in collective bargaining, and participate in industrial action.

The SPN strongly condemns the growing wave of arrests, harassment, detention, and the use of trumped-up charges against activists, journalists, and political opponents. This represents a dangerous escalation in the criminalization of dissent, and a brutal  assault on Nigeria’s democratic space. If these attacks are continued to be left unchallenged, the Tinubu government will be further emboldened to intensify attacks on those resisting its anti-poor policies and building a genuine working people’s political alternative.

In light of this, the SPN urges the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to move beyond issuing statements and immediately declare a 24-hour general strike, backed  with nationwide mass  protests. Such an action should be used to demand an immediate end to the harassment, intimidation, and detention of activists, with all charges against Andrew Emelieze, Micheal Adaramoye Lenin, Daniel Akande and others dropped without delay. It should also demand the reversal of petrol price hikes and  other anti-poor policies while defending democratic rights. Furthermore, the NLC must press for the immediate and full implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage across all states and sectors, as well as the reversal of the anti-worker NIRP, which has been imposed without genuine consultation with organised labour.

For us in the SPN, this is a decisive moment for the working class and oppressed people of Nigeria. The same solidarity and mass pressure that helped secure Sowore’s release must now be deployed in a broader struggle against state repression, economic exploitation, and social injustice. We call for the building of a pan-Nigerian working people’s political party armed with a socialist programme, one committed to placing the needs of workers, the poor, and the oppressed above the profit and greed of the thieving capitalist ruling elite. Only a government formed by such a party, dedicated to the democratic planning of economy including public ownership of key sectors under democratic workers’ control and management, can break the cycle of repression, poverty, and inequality, and lay the foundation for a truly democratic, socialist Nigeria.

Bamigboye Abiodun (Abbey Trotsky)

Acting National Chairperson

Chinedu Bosah

National Secretary

Email: [email protected]